On the Fairway, a Score for Justice

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By Thomas A. Brophy, president emeritus at Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, P.C., and president of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.

On August 6th, the Philadelphia Bar Foundation held its 30th Annual Golf and Tennis Classic commemorating three decades of significant fundraising efforts in our community. More than 130 supporters joined us for a warm and sunny day at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale.

We kicked off the morning with our golf competition on the Union League’s beautiful 18-hole Donald Ross golf course. The tournament featured a number of exciting contests, including a Million Dollar Shot Contest hosted by Barrister Wealth Management, as well as a hole-in-one competition for a new Lexus presented by Wilkie Lexus. Although no guests left with million dollar winnings or a new car, our golfers put on an impressive showing at every challenge!

This year we added an afternoon golf clinic as a fun new experience, designed especially for novice golfers as an introduction to the game. We were so happy to offer this as an attraction, welcoming new golfers to our event.

This year marked our seventh year for tennis play as a part of our classic. Tennis players braved the heat on the Union League’s courts for an afternoon of competitive recreation. We also brought back a pickleball competition for its second year as yet another way to showcase our supporters’ athletic abilities.

Our 30th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic was originally scheduled for June 11th, and was moved due to unfortunate weather. We appreciate that so many members of our community were still able to come out for the rescheduled Golf & Tennis Classic to support the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.

Thank you to the generous auction donors and winners that made our auction a great success. We appreciate the variety of unique items donated for our guests to bid on. Prizes included local golf foursomes, unique travel experiences, sports memorabilia, and more. One of our lucky live auction winners went home with a once in a lifetime trip to the Lexus Champions for Charity National Championship in Pebble Beach! We thank Wilkie Lexus for donating this unique prize.

As always, we put together a Post-Event Report for you to enjoy. The report includes photos, award winners, and other highlights from our 30th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic. I hope you’ll appreciate this recap of the event as much as I did!

I am proud to announce that the 30th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic was another win for the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. In the first few years of the annual Classic, there were only a handful of sponsors and the event’s revenue hovered around $25,000. This year, with support from our Unified Approach to Giving, event sponsors, attendees and auction winners, we raised more than $102,500. This will be allocated to our 2018 grants in support of the Bar Foundation’s mission.

Much work is involved as a Foundation and a community to raise these funds, and we are grateful to those who served, sponsored, played and attended. Donations through the Golf & Tennis Classic provide essential support through grants to our non-profit partners.

We are especially thankful to those institutions that have contributed to our Unified Approach to Giving campaign. Unified Giving is an annual, one-time financial gift from a law firm (or other company) that provides sustenance to support our work. There are many reasons why this is beneficial, and we greatly appreciate all Philadelphia law firms, large and small, who support us in this model.

Thank you again to everyone who helped us #ScoreForJustice at the 30th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic. It was truly my pleasure to spend the day with you in the spirit of competition and community.